Tuesday, May 31

The latest project from 10e fave Sumner McKane is The Northeast by Eastern. Sumner gave us loggers In The Blood, travelling photographers through The Maine Frontier, and rumrunners
Only Smuggling. This latest expolers the archive of Eastern Illustrating, a postcard company which inadvertently now serves as a record of rural life in the early 20thC of upstate New England.

The Northeast by Eastern combines Eastern Illustrating and Publishing Company’s comprehensive collection of early 20th century photographs of rural New England and Upstate New York, with archival film footage, interviews, and oral histories.

These 'docu-exhibits' by McKane are performed with live music in townhalls/galleries/libraries in Maine and farther afield as history lessons as much as entertainment. Have him visit your school or support the latest project here.

"When Spring would arrive in the Northeast, the traveling
photographer/salesmen from the Belfast, Maine-based, Eastern
illustrating and Publishing Company would pack up their cameras,
catalogues, and order books, and head out on the road, seeking buyers
and markets for their unique “real photo” postcards.

Between 1909-1940, Eastern’s
photographers captured roughly 100,000 views on glass plate negatives.
These views captured towns that are no longer on maps, towns that we
never knew existed, our home towns, and they captured, thoroughly, a way
of life in the rural northeast in the early 20th century."

Tuesday, May 24

Recently connected with the Resident Archivist at Carhartt, Inc.,
Dave Moore, who has been tasked with creating their physical archive
from the materials at hand - as well as setting an agenda for
collections and processes.

Many 10e readers share my fascination with this storied brand and its
place in the workwear canon. I have noted before that Carhartt seemed a
little late-to-the-party to formally organize an archive, so very
interested to hear what is happening now and any academic principals
that guided their decisions.

10E: Personally I am a fanatical collector of the Carhartt Centennial 1889-1989 collection. Systematically there seemed to be a change in design ethos just after this period [1989 -ed.]; looser cuts to pants, exploring other materials, manufacturing etc. Were the Centennial items simply those at hand with custom buttons and tags added?

Image via 10engines

DM: The story of the Carhartt centennial line is relatively simple - we put a commemorative patch on our existing products! The company wanted to celebrate the anniversary, but also stay committed to its core offerings. Unique items from 1989 include mesh-back caps in denim and brown duck with special patches-- they were offered to customers as promotional pieces

Image via 10engines

DM: Carhartt’s centennial in 1989 was not specifically an impetus for change
in and of itself, but rather occurred at a time that the company was
already undergoing growth and beginning to expand its product offerings.
Carhartt had purchased a company called the Gross Galesburg Co. about
10 years earlier, which was used as a vehicle to test the waters for
more casual clothing. When ‘89 came around, items like sweatshirts had
been fully integrated into the line. As the ‘90s progressed, the product
offerings grew by leaps and bounds. Up until this era, production
capacity had been a major limiting factor for growth. The acquisition of
numerous plants leading up to the centennial basically allowed the
company to produce new items while still maintaining consistent
production of core garments, which will always be the heart of the
product line.

10E: Was Car-Lux part of the 1980s hunting line that slowly was dropped? Who researched and surfaced that spongy material for making Car-Lux happen?

DM: CAR-LUX™ was an inner shell material bonded to 100% polyurethane insulation for extra warmth. It had lightweight flocked nylon fibers that trapped air for warmth without adding extra bulk. Carhartt originally introduced it in sweatshirts in 1990, which were available in a wide variety of colors and camo patterns. While we don’t use this designation anymore, our European-based licensee, Carhartt Work in Progress, still does.

CAR-LUX was more of a result of Carhartt’s expansion into sweatshirts and casual clothes, as these garments were offered in many different colors, patterns, etc. However, the company stayed committed to serving the outdoors consumer by offering products like this in various camo patterns and blaze orange. The CAR-LUX designation began to be used in 1990, but the products were actually introduced in ‘88 using the name Vellux for the lining. This was a material first developed back in the ‘60s in the Pepperell Mills of Biddeford, Maine. [love this sort of info... -ed]

10E: Do you communicate much with Carhartt WIP (Europe)?

DM: I do communicate with WIP, and their requests tend to focus more on information about the formative years of the company and founder Hamilton Carhartt.

Images courtesy of the Library of Congress

10E: You told the story on the call of people returning garments with letters - could you provide an example to illustrate?

DM: Extract from one letter attached;

"I purchased these lined bib overalls in 1976. I’m a farmer, and my daily chores – driving a tractor, and planting and harvesting various crops – proved rather demanding on them, causing occasional rips and tears, but my wife always repaired the overalls as needed. Many years and many repairs later, she passed away.

After a time, I developed a friendship with a neighbor who carried on the tradition of repairing the overalls before she too passed on. Now, twenty years later, the bibs have outlived both my wife and my neighbor so I thought it time to return the overalls to their Carhartt."

10E: What are some pieces you really strive to collect? Any unique features on older coats (like map pockets - but more than that...) you have found?

DM: I am a big fan of the “Government Style” khaki coat that appeared in Carhartt’s catalog in the early ‘20s. The four pleats on the front give it a really distinctive look

As far as unique features go, you could find them everywhere on our Super Dux outdoor clothes in the ‘30s. On the classic Hunting Coat, there were features and pockets for every accessory… “On the left inside there is a practical match scratcher and below this is a pocket large enough to hold a quart Stanley bottle, also a set-in pocket large enough to accommodate license, axe stone, or other useful articles.

*************

The match 'scratcher' - for the man who has everything... Some great stuff - thank you again Dave Moore and Carhartt for dipping into the past. Cheers!

Tuesday, May 17

Recently connected with the Resident Archivist at Carhartt, Inc., Dave Moore, who has been tasked with creating their physical archive from the materials at hand - as well as setting an agenda for collections and processes.

Many 10e readers share my fascination with this storied brand and its place in the workwear canon. I have noted before that Carhartt seemed a little late-to-the-party to formally organize an archive, so very interested to hear what is happening now and any academic principals that guided their decisions. Part 1 of this interview is below, presented without editorial comment. Part 2 toward the end of the week.

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10E: Can you talk about the collection policy at Carhartt; are you involved in the search for items for the archive at all? Do you look for gaps in the collection and make suggestions? Is enough ever "enough"?

DM: Yes, I am involved in the search for acquisitions. We are still very much in the phase of growing our archive, especially our garment collection. Generally, the focus is twofold: 1) the oldest possible versions of our most iconic garments, and 2) particularly unique pieces, such as clothing we produce only for a limited number of years. We are fortunate to have employees (both current and retired) and consumers that have a deep commitment to the brand and make donations to help preserve our history. We love to find a pristine version of an iconic style, but often the garments with the most interesting stories are ones that have seen years, or often decades, of hard work.

This pair of hickory stripe overalls had a brown duck backing for its nail apron, and was only produced for about six years in the late ‘50s early ‘60s.

10E: What are a few of your favorite items from the archive?

DM: Carhartt’s Ranch Wear line in the ‘60s was popular for its brown duck offerings, but I have a particular affinity for this denim version of the Ranch Coat. One unique aspect is the orange stitching, which really makes it pop.

Carhartt “cut its teeth” in hunting wear in the ‘30s with the Super Dux line. I love the timeless style of the “Big Game Stag Coat” in Mackinaw wool.

And it is hard to beat the iconic heart shaped buttons from Carhartt’s early years in the late 1800s early 1900s. An updated version of this chore coat is still in our line today.

10E: The Carhartt font of the 60s was v modern, almost space age... how did that come about?

DM: All the way up to the early 1960s, Carhartt stuck with a script style although our logo type face changed, you can still see this style used quite a bit on current products. We had an experimental phase in ’65-’66, when Carhartt went to lowercase block lettering surrounded by an elongated C. The logo and type face we use today was actually implemented all the way back in ‘67. We changed the font a few times since then, but eventually came around full circle to the one from the late ‘60s.

10E: Could you talk about your career path to archivist/historian?

DM: Honestly, without my knowing it at the time, I think my career path began when my dad first sat me down to watch Raiders of the Lost Ark. His interest in history really sparked mine, and I also had some absolutely amazing teachers along the way. After so many years of doing research and writing history, I developed an interest in the other side of the coin; how did all these primary source materials get here? Who saved them and organized them? Those questions ended up driving my grad studies, and I worked in both frontline museum jobs and interned at archives while I went to school.

As far as the corporate archive world goes, I am a big admirer of Ted Ryan [historian/archivist for Coca-Cola Corp. - ed]. He has done and continues to do amazing work publicizing the history of his brand.

10E: Wonder if you have 'archived' the website carhartt.com over time or if you rely on the waybackmachine.

DM: We have not yet delved into any web archiving here. I still rely primarily on our price lists and print catalogs for information on historical product offerings, although we have made huge progress in digitizing this material. We have also developed our own database in the archive for vintage product descriptions, which allows me to filter by year, fabric type, garment type, product number, etc. This database has been a major boon, especially for research and the development of garment histories for our key products.

10E: Several other retailers, notably Levi's and LLBean, have really grasped the significance of a corporate archive for materials. I believe it goes beyond the recent "heritage trend" of the last 10 years. Can you talk about some archival / business victories you have seen in your time there so far?

DM: Well, the big motivation for the creation of the archive here was the company’s 125th anniversary in 2014. The historical content was here it had been used before for many purposes, as Carhartt has always been a company to draw on its brand heritage. But it needed to be organized and made more accessible, and in just two years we’ve made huge strides. From the archive side, the overall (pun intended) victory has really been solidifying the details of our brand history. For instance, we always knew our founder, Hamilton Carhartt, started his business in a small Detroit loft, but until recent newspaper research we didn’t know where that loft was, now we do. We had vintage catalogs, but few real world historic photos of workers wearing Carhartt. Now we do.

This is the oldest known photograph of a worker wearing Carhartt (Ship Creek, AK, circa 1915).

Each new discovery puts another piece in the puzzle. From the business side, our 2016 marketing campaign (which talks about how “Our Future is in Our Heritage”) has been extremely successful and is the product of a cross-collaboration between the archive and many other departments. Through the recreation of iconic vintage pieces, we’ve been able to create a snapshot of the company’s history from 1889 that really captures our core mission and values, which are still rooted in the beliefs of Hamilton.

10E: Could you touch on the archival principle of 'reuse'? Does the business side of the operation see those economies?

DM: My firm belief, especially with regard to a company with a long history like Carhartt, is that every time you publicize that history, you are growing trust in your brand. We have an amazing design department that never ceases to innovate and create new products. The thing about Carhartt is that even when we introduce a completely new product line, there are 127 years of sweat, blood, and tears behind it. When new products are developed, it’s done in a way that harkens back to our company founder, Hamilton Carhartt, who frequently conducted face-to-face conversations with his target consumer (railroad workers) and developed an overall that addressed their specific needs. That strategy is still integral to how we operate today. Repurposing archival assets for marketing purposes puts that message across directly to the consumer; you can trust us, we’ve done this before.